As Ukraine braces for another harsh winter, food insecurity is surging—especially in frontline areas where conflict, inflation and energy poverty collide. CWS is committed to walking alongside vulnerable communities, ensuring access to food and dignity in the face of growing hardship.
A Perfect Storm: Conflict, Inflation and Cold
In Ukraine’s frontline oblasts, the convergence of war, economic instability and seasonal hardship is pushing families deeper into crisis. Attacks on infrastructure have tripled since last year, disrupting heating, electricity and water supply. As a result, many households are forced to divert limited resources away from food to cover essential utilities.
The economic toll is staggering. Inflation reached 49% in the first half of 2025, and nearly half of household spending now goes toward food. Prices of staples like eggs, fruits and sunflower oil have soared, while as many as 45% of households in frontline regions report limited or no access to markets, severely restricting their ability to purchase or access food.
Winter only amplifies these pressures. As preserved produce from summer harvests runs out and heating costs rise by 10%, families face impossible choices between warmth and nutrition. Food insecurity increases by 12.5% during the coldest months, forcing many to skip meals or deplete savings just to survive.
In Ukraine and Moldova*, CWS is actively supporting humanitarian efforts through partnerships with local and international organizations. We advocate for targeted winter assistance that combines in-kind food support and cash-based aid, with special attention to vulnerable populations to ensure safe, dignified access to essentials.
CWS Delivers Winterization Support
In 2023, blankets, winter clothing and vouchers for food and hygiene items were distributed in Moldova through our local partner Diaconia.
Winterization Support in Ukraine
Shortly after opening an office in Ukraine, CWS partnered with Caritas Odesa to deliver vital winterization support to older persons and families with children in the Odeska Oblast —providing critical heating support amid plunging temperatures and continued bombardment of the power grid.
While Odeska Oblast is not officially designated as a frontline region, it faces many of the same challenges. Rising food prices, increased infrastructure attacks and steep winter costs have left residents vulnerable—especially older adults, displaced families and people with disabilities. Between September 2024-2025, infrastructure attacks across Ukraine surged from 260 to 820 incidents compared to the previous year, leaving even relatively safer regions struggling to keep the lights and heat on.
Between November 2024 and February 2025, 129 households received firewood as part of CWS’s response, supporting 241 internally displaced persons, including 37 individuals with disabilities. This strategic partnership combined Caritas Odesa’s deep local knowledge with CWS’s humanitarian commitment to meet urgent needs.
Winterization Support in Moldova
In Moldova, CWS continues to stand with Ukrainian refugees and vulnerable Moldovan families through a long-standing partnership with Diaconia Social Mission. Since the early days of the war, this collaboration has provided food, hygiene items, medical care, winter supplies and vouchers to offset housing and utility costs.
Most refugees have now endured several winters in Moldova, facing mounting financial pressure due to inflation and rising heating expenses. From December 2024 to February 2025, CWS and Diaconia supported 235 families—183 Ukrainian and 52 Moldovan—providing winter clothing, footwear, medication, hygiene items and food to help ease the burden of winter.
Over the past two years, this partnership has grown significantly. In its first year, 3,822 families—nearly 15,000 people—received assistance. By the second year, that number increased to 4,877 families, reaching 21,256 individuals with vital winter support.
As winter approaches, the need is urgent—but so is our commitment. Together, we can help families in Ukraine weather the season with strength, resilience and hope.
* In addition to CWS’s winterization support, we also work with local partners in Ukraine year-round to provide critical support, like Culture of Democracy and Positive Women. From September 2024 to September 2025 , Culture of Democracy provided food kits to 4,500 households (nearly 6,000 people) in remote Odesa communities through the Caring Hearts project, and Positive Women, which from September 2024 to June 2025 distributed supermarket vouchers worth UAH 540,000 ($12,795) to 180 women living with HIV and their allies in Odesa oblast. Learn more about our work in Ukraine here.
This story is possible thanks to CWS’s membership in ACT Alliance, a global coalition of churches and agencies engaged in development, humanitarian assistance and advocacy. It is also supported by the generosity of UMCOR and Presbyterian Church (USA).
As the weather turns colder, consider making a donation to support this critical work.